Press Release: FX has ordered the new series Never Let Me Go, a one-hour drama inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro’s science fiction novel, exclusively for Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories, it was announced today by Gina Balian, President, FX Entertainment. The series is produced by DNA Productions with FX Productions and Searchlight Television.
In this sci-fi thriller, Thora, a rebellious teenage clone, escapes from the boarding school where she and her fellow clones are kept hidden from society, but as she starts living undercover in the outside world, she unwittingly sets in motion events that will spark a revolution and test the boundaries of what it means to be human.
Viola Prettejohn, in the role of “Thora,” will star with Tracey Ullman, Kelly Macdonald, Aiysha Hart, Spike Fearn, Shaniqua Okwok, Gary Beadle, Kwami Odoom, Susan Brown, Keira Chanse and Edward Holcroft.
“Never Let Me Go is a modern science fiction classic that Melissa Iqbal and the creative team have brilliantly adapted for FX as a drama exploring timely and unsettling themes on life and the ethics of technology,” said Balian. “We are honored to partner with Andrew and Allon at DNA Productions, Searchlight Television, Alex Garland, Marc Munden, Kazuo Ishiguro and the incredible cast on this exciting new project.”
Melissa Iqbal (The Nevers, Humans) wrote the pilot and will serve as showrunner and executive produce with Marc Munden (Utopia, Help, National Treasure), who also directed the pilot. Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Never Let Me Go, Devs) will also executive produce along with Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich and Maria Fleischer of DNA Productions (Ex Machina, Devs, Trainspotting), and Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go) serve as executive producers. Kharmel Cochrane (The Lighthouse, The End of the F***ing World) served as casting director.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go was published in 2005 to tremendous acclaim and was nominated for the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. It was named the best novel of 2005 by Time Magazine.
Searchlight Pictures previously adapted the novel into the acclaimed 2010 feature film written by Alex Garland, directed by Mark Romanek and produced by Macdonald and Reich. Macdonald and Reich also collaborated on the FX limited series Devs.